Re-knitting apparatus



0a. 21, 1930. A. c. PARLINI 1,779,248

REKNITTING APPARATUS Filed July 9, 1929 "I5 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 21,1930 UNITED STATES PATENT omc ALEXANDER. C. PARLINI, OF WOODSIDE, NEWYORK, ASSIGNOR TO GOTHAK KNI'I'BAC MACHINE CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OFDELAWARE BE KNI'ITING APPARATUS Application filed July 9,

This invention relates in general to reknitting apparatus and moreparticularly to manually operated apparatus for repairing runs, ravels,dropped stitches and the like, in

stockings, underwear and other knitted fabrics. When runs and the likeare re-knitted in fabrics considerable skill is required on the part ofthe operator in positioning the repairing needle and in reciprocatingthesame with respect to the threads of the run.

With each ty e of repairing needle, the needle is preferably held inaparticular angular relatlon with respectto the run. With certain typesof repairing needles, it is necessary to position them laterally out ofalignment with the run during the repairing operation. As thispositioning of the repairing needle must be maintained constant duringthe repairing operation, the o erators hand go becomes quickly fatigued'an the efiicienc of the operator. greatly decreased accor ingly.Therefore, the principal object of the presentinvention is to rovide anaccurate manually operated renitting apparatus which is supported uponthe fabric at a fixed angle with respect to the run thereby renderin itunnecessar for the operator to support file apparatus y hand and tomaintain same in a fixed position during the repairing .0 operation.

In re-knitting a run, in order to avoid the dropping of stitches and tore-knit efficiently, it is necessary for the operator to emplo areknitting stroke of a particular lengt If 88 the stroke employed is tooshort, the needle is apt to be raised before the next thread of the'runhas been caught in the hook of the needle and the stitch on the needleshank will be dropped when the needle is raised. Any

40 lowering of the needle beyond the place where the threads pass overthe end of the latch in its open position isunnecessary and inefiicient.Therefore, it becomes desirable to provide means for controlling thelength of the re-knitting stroke within certain well defined 1929.Serial No. 377,016.

needle. It will, therefore, be understood that.

in order to repair a run either the fabric must be fed to the repairingneedle or the repairing needle advanced longitudinally along the run.Another object of the present inventionis to provide means whereby thereciprocation of the repairing needle causes the re-knitting apparatusto be advanced lon itu'dinally along the run in the' fabric. Asereinafter described, the repairing apparatus is advanced along the rundurm the upward movement of the re airing nee 1e so as to insure thecatching of t e threads of the run in the hook of the needle when theneedle is raised.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a manuallyoperated re-knitting apparatus of such construction that the repairingneedle is reciprocated' by the reci rocation of a handle member operatedby the hand of the operator in a simple and rapid manner.

Further objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription and the invention will be better understood when thedescription is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing inwhich,

' Fig. 1 is a cross sectional side'view of a preferred form of apparatusembodying the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional side elevational view similar to Fig. 1 butillustrating in addition thereto a presser foot mechanism for advancingthe apparatus longitudinally along the run inthe fabric,

Fig. 4 is a partial enlarged side elevational view of the abovementioned presser foot mechanism,

Fig. is a top view of the presser foot, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the presser foot construction.

In the drawings the numeral 1 indicates a latch needle of the usualdesign such as is commonly used in repairing or re-knitting runs,ravels, dro ped stitches and the like, in stockings, un erwear and otherknitted fabrics. The needle 1 is held in a suitable needle holder 2preferably cylindrical and of substantial length as illustrated in thedrawings. The needle holder is supported in a sleeve 3 and isreciprocable therein by movement of a handle member to be describedhereinafter. As shown in the drawings, the needle holder 2 rojectsslightly beyond the upper end of t e sleeve 3.

The lower end of the sleeve 3 is referably provided with a collar 4securely astened to the sleeve 3 in any suitable manner. A presser foot5 adapted to support the re-knitting apparatus in a fixed relation tothe run in the fabric is connected to the lower end of the collar 4.

A handle 6 preferably cylindrical surrounds the sleeve 3, and isconnected to the needle holder 2 by means of a pin 7 which passesthrough a longitudinal slot 8 in the sleeve 3 and engages in the needleholder 2 as shown more clearly in Fig. 1. The slot 8 in the sleeve 3 ispreferably of such length that the pin 7 limits the downward movement ofthe needle holder 2 relative to the tube 3 and presser foot 5. It willbe appreciated, of course, that since the sleeve 3 and collar 4 mountedthereon are rigidly connected to the presser foot 5, they are stationaryduring the operation of the a paratus, while the handle 6 and the needleho der 2 carrying the needle 1 are reciprocable by the hand of theoperator.

The lower end of the handle 6 is recessed as indicated at 9 and ahelical spring 10 lies in this recess and abuts against the collar 4 andthe upper end of the recess as shown more clearly in Fig. 1. This springserves to return the handle 6 to its upper position after it has beendepressed by the hand of the operator.

In re-knitting runs in stockings and other knitting fabrics by hand, itis desirable that the len th of the stroke of the re-knitting needle'bemade uniform so as to avoid the risk of dropping stitches due to liftingthe needle too short a distance or depressing it too little. It requiresconsiderable skill on the part of the operator to mantain the re quiredlength of stroke for any considerable time and is a source ofinconvenience to the operator. The apparatus described. herein is desined to provide adjustable means for controfiing the length of the strokeof the re-knitting'needle. As previously mentioned, the upward movementof the sleeve 8 is limited by the pin 7 striking against the upper edgeof the slot 8 in the sleeve 3. The opposite movement of the repairingneedle is limited by means of an adjustable nut 11 screwed on thethreaded upper end of the needle holder 2, as shown in the drawings.When the needle holder 2 is depressed by the handle 6, the nut 11 willstrike against the upper end of the stationary sleeve 3 and thusrestrict the downward movement of the repairing needle. It will, ofcourse, be appreciated that the length of the slot 8 in the sleeve 3 andthe position of the adjustable nut 11 on the needle holder 2 may bevaried so as to change the length of the stroke of the repairing needleas desired.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the apparatus herein described is adapted tobe operated.

in the vertical plane of the run in the fabric. It will be understoodwith other types of re knitting needles, it is often desirable andsometimes essential that they be used in a position laterally out ofalignment with the run in the fabric. If such arrangement be de sirable,the presser foot may be changed so as to position the apparatus at thedesired angle.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3-6 inclusive, the presser footmechanism which is adapted to advance the repairing apparatuslongitudinally along the run in the fabric will now be described. Thepresser foot 5 is preferably provided with two spaced ears 12 which areadapted to support a rotatable pin 13 extending beyond the sides of thepresser "foot as more clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. The sides of thepresser loot are recessed as indicatedat 14 in Fig. 5 so as toaccommodate two presser rollers 15 mounted upon the rotatable pin 13 andof such diameter that they project slightly below the lower surface ofthe presser foot 5, as shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. The rollers15 are provided on their outer faces with ratchet wheels 16 with whichthe pawls 17 engage to rotate the rollers. The pawls 17 are pivoted uponthe lower end of a yoke 18 and are normally urged toward the ratchetwheels 16 by the springs 19. The yoke 18, as shown in Fig. 5, isprovided with two spaced branches 20 which lie in close proximity to theface of the ratchet wheels 16 and which have an elongated slot 21through which the ends of the rotatable pin 13 pass.

The upper end of the yoke 18 is connected to the lower end of the handle6 by a collar 22 clamped thereon or by any other suitable means. Thesides of the slots 21 in the lower branches 20 of the yoke are parallelwith the center line of the needle h0lder"2.'

It will be understood from the above description that when the handle 6is -reciprocated by the hand of the operator and by the helical spring10, the repairing needle 1 will likewise e reciprocated and in the usualmanner will successively form loops in the threads of the run and willprogressively interengage the successive loops thus formed to re-knitthe fabric. To one skilled in the art, it will be apparent that duringthis re-knitting operation the repairing apparatus must be movedlongitudinally along the run or the fabric advanced to the repairingapparatus. In the operation of the present apparatus, the fabric is heldstationary and the apparatus advanced longitudinally along the run to bere-knitted. As the handle 6 of the apparatus is reciprocated as abovedescribed, the yoke 18 connected thereto reciprocates and carries withit the pawls 17 which being in engagement with the teeth of the ratchetwheels 16, cause the latter to rotate the presser rollers 15. Theserollers travel along the fabric and move the entire apparatuslongitudinally along the run so as to permit the repairing of the runwithout requiring the operator to move the apparatus other than toreciprocate the handle 6.

Having thus described this specific embodiment of my invention, it isnot to be understood that the invention is limited to the details ofform and the arrangement of parts set forth for various changes may bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. I

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A fabric re-knitting apparatus comprising, a sleeve having alongitudinal slot therein, means for determining the position of saidsleeve relative to said fabric, a needle holder reciprocable in saidsleeve, a handle surrounding said sleeve, means extending through saidslot and connected to said handle and said holder whereby saidhandle isadapted to reciprocate said holder and means for limiting the length ofthe stroke of said holder.

2. A fabric re-knitting apparatus comprising, a sleeve having alongitudinal slot therein, means for determinin the position of saidsleeve relative to said fa ric, a needle holder reciprocable in saidsleeve and having one end projecting beyond said sleeve, a handlesurrounding said sleeve, means extending through said slot and connectedto said handle and said holder whereby said handle is adapted toreciprocate said holder and means associated with the projecting end ofsaid holder for limiting the length of the stroke of said holder.

3. A fabric re-knitting apparatus comprising, a sleeve, means fordetermining the position of said sleeve relative to said fabric, aneedle holder reciprocable in said sleeve, an abutment on the end ofsaid sleeve, a handle adapted to reciprocate said holder, resilientmeans between said abutment and said handle and means for adjusting thelength of the stroke of said holder.

4. A fabric re-knitting apparatus comprising, a sleeve, means fordetermining the position of said sleeve relative to said fabric, a.needle holder reciprocable in said sleeve and having one end projectingbeyond said sleeve, an abutment on the end of said sleeve, a handleadapted to reciprocate said holder, resilient means between saidabutment and said handle and means associated with the projecting end ofsaid holder for adjusting the length of the stroke of said holder.

5. A fabric re-knitting apparatus comprising, a sleeve having alongitudnial slot therein, a presser foot carried by said sleeve, aneedle holder reciprocable in said sleeve, an abutment on the end ofsaid sleeve, a handle surrounding said sleeve, means extending throughsaid slot and connected to said handle and said holder whereby saidhandle is adapted to reciprocate said holder, resilient means betweensaid abutment. and said handle and means for controlling the length ofthe stroke of said holder.

6. A fabric re-knitting apparatus comprising, a sleeve having a lonitudinal slot therein, a presser foot carrie by said sleeve, a needleholder reciprocable in said sleeve and having one end projecting beyondsaid sleeve, an abutment on the end of said sleeve, a handle surroundingsaid sleeve and having a recess in one end thereof, means extendingthrough said slot and connected to said handle and said holder wherebysaid handle is adapted to reciprocate said holder, resilient meansbetween said abutment and said handle and lying in said recess and meansassociated with the projecting end of said holder for controlling thelength of the stroke of said holder.

7. An apparatus for re-knitting runs in fabrics comprising, a sleeve,means for determining the position of said sleeve relative to saidfabric, a needle holder reciprocable in said sleeve, a handle adapted toreciprocate said holder, means for controlling the length of the strokeof said holder and a feeding mechanism for advancing the apparatuslongitudinally of the run comprising, rollers and means operated by thereciprocation of said handle and adapted to rotate said rollers.

8. An apparatus for re-knitting runs in fabrics comprising, a sleeve, aneedle holder reciprocable in said sleeve, a handle adapted toreciprocate said holder, means for controlling the length of the strokeof said holder and a feeding mechanism for advancing the apparatuslongitudinally of the run comprising, a. presser foot, rollers supportedthereby, and reciprocable means connected to said handle and saidrollers and adapted to rotate said rollers.

9. An apparatus for re-knitting runs in Ill fabrics comprising, asleeve, a needle holder reciprocable in said sleeve, a handle adapted toreciprocate said holder, means for controlling the length of the strokeof said 5 holder and a feeding mechanism for advancing the apparatuslongitudinally of the run comprising, a presser foot, rollers supportedthereby, a ratchet associated with said rollers, a pawl coactingtherewith and a memher connected to said handle and said pawl and recirocable with said handle, said pawl being a apted to rotate said ratchetduring the upward movement of said handle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

, ALEXANDER o. PARLINI.

